Shrimp Boil: The Ultimate Bouquet Garni

We’re big fans of peel-and-eat shrimp in the summer. The cooking is easy and the eating is simple and satisfying. All you need to boil a big pot of well-seasoned shrimp (or crab or crawfish, as the box suggests) is this mesh bag full of spices.

But what’s in the bag? And could you make your own? We’ll tell you, below…

Seafood boils usually contain a combination of allspice, coriander, dill, and mustard seeds. Zatarain’s blend is secret (of course), but there’s definitely some pepper in there. We’ve taken a big whiff of the bag before and it knocked us out.

Essentially, it’s a super potent bouquet garni — a pouch of flavor that infuses the water while you boil the shrimp.